Cyclone - Free 80s Yamaha TX16W Sampler For Windows & Mac!

Cyclone by Sonic Charge.

Sonic Charge has released Cyclone, a free VST/AU instrument plugin which emulates the Yamaha TX16W hardware sampler in amazing detail.

Cyclone is a true low-level hardware emulator. It simulates all the important circuits of the Yamaha TX16W, including the main 68000 CPU, the proprietary Yamaha DSP circuits, the 12-bit sample memory and the 400kHz non-linear DACs. Cyclone not only looks like a real TX16W, it sounds like a real TX16W and it runs the exact same software as a real TX16W.

Cyclone is available for free download via Sonic Charge (3.87 MB download size, ZIP archive, 32-bit VSTi/AUi plugin format for Windows & Mac).

This freeware virtual instrument is basically a software clone of the 12-bit Yamaha TX16W hardware sampler which was produced back in 1987. A 25 year old sampler, imagine that!

Cyclone emulates the original hardware down to circuit level and runs the same operating system as the original sampler (the Typhoon 2000 operating system which was often used as the substitute for the factory OS). Sonic Charge really went into detail here. For example, each imported sound bank is be represented as a differently colored Floppy Disk on the GUI. Loading different sound banks takes time, and the workflow is exactly the same as on the original TX16W.

It will definitely help if you read the FAQ section on the Sonic Charge website. You’ll learn how to import sound banks into Cyclone and offers a link to the complete manual. A nice collection of sound banks is provided here.

Does it make sense to install a 25 year old sampler clone and use it in your DAW? The answer depends on your taste, really. I have a geeky attraction towards using old hardware instruments and although it took me more than 20 minutes to figure out how to load sounds into Cyclone, it was 20 minutes of pure fun!

Perhaps most people will be put off by the archaic workflow implemented in Cyclone, however fans of old audio hardware and people in search of authentic 80s sounds will definitely enjoy this freebie. After you install Cyclone and start playing around with it, you’ll probably feel like you got a great bargain for a cool vintage instrument in a thrift store.